Cyberbullying: Direct Victimization in Schools and to Specific Groups

Unfortunately although our society is working towards becoming more accepting of the LGBT community there still are plenty reports of bullying and harassment of LGBT adolescents in the public school system. According to Roxane Gay's essay “nine out

Education is an important factor in life in order to thrive, but LGBT students face harassment in school due to their identity. According to a Human Rights report conducted in 2001, two million American students in the LGBT

Most kids say that they don’t see bullying around school. In just Minnesota alone there is talk about bullying and how to prevent it. Sen. Franken states, “Nine out of 10 LGBT kids are harassed or bullied in school. One-third report having skipped school in the last month because they felt unsafe” (Shah 14). Kids should not feel unsafe to go to school. School is supposed to be a safe place to go and if someone needs help there are supposed to be people there to guide them. Franken adds, “But the sad fact is that our federal laws are failing” (Shah 14). Laws have been made to try to stop bullying, but bullying continues to exist. This shows how out of control bullying is becoming.

Nine out of 10 people in the LGBTQ community across the country have experienced bullying, according to GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network).

Most LGBT youth become happy with who they are which gives them room to thrive during their adolescent years. Attending a school that has a safe and comfortable environment for every student is especially important. Positive environments can help all youth achieve good grades and maintain good mental and physical health. However, some youths are more likely than their straight peers to experience bad health and life outcomes. Experiences with violence, compared to other students, come easy to LGBT individuals that can cause increased risks for unfortunate circumstances.‘Violence’ includes behaviors such as teasing, harassment, and physical assault. It is important that students at risk have access to resources and support to deal with any questions or challenges they may have or face as they mature. Surveyed LGBT students reported 10% were threatened or injured, 34% were bullied, and 28% were bullied electronically.

The Bullying Policy has been introduced around the world which, according to the 2014 observations , rates of bullying vary across studies from 9% to 98%. An observation of 80 studies analyzing bullying involvement rates for both bullying others and being bullied for 12-18 year old students reported an estimate rate of 35% for traditional bullying involvement and 15% for cyberbullying involvement (Modecki, Minchin, Harbaugh, Guerra, & Runions, 2014). This means the Bullying Prevention Policy affects million of students nationwide due to the programs created. More specifically, females face a higher indication of bullying victimization than males do. To explain, high percentages of each gender are faced with the aggressive acts of violence, making it extremely hard to perform well in the school environment. Furthermore, as many as 93 percent of students hear derogatory words about sexual orientation at least once every day at school or in their community (violencepreventionworks). Negative name calling and harassment about sexual orientation can be disrespectful to all students. For an example, 3 out of 4 students who are bullied/harassed with such remarks are not identified as lesbian, gay,

GSA groups have been around since the 1980’s and according to the Gay-Straight Alliance Network there are currently over 4,000 school based groups throughout the United States (Currie, Mayberry, and Chenneville, 2012; Tommey, Ryan, Diaz, and Russell, 2011). GSA groups came out of the Gay Rights Movement during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Adolescents identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or align within the context of this spectrum have been victims of bullying, discrimination, prejudice, persecution, and hate within the school system. For one decade, between 1999 and 2009, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in the United States asking students to describe their high school milieu. According to the findings, 61% of LGBT students feel unsafe, 72% report hearing degrading comments, 85% are verbally harassed, and 40% are physically harassed (Fetner, Elafros, Bortolin, and Drechsler, 2012). The statistics for minority high school students including Latinos and African Americans had slightly elevated rates in both verbal and physical harassment. It was not until the realization that LGBT adolescents, like other adolescents, spend the majority of their time within the confines of the American public education system and suffer, did acknowledgement of creating a safe space for LGBT students develop (Toomey et. al, 2011).

The authors of this journal examine bullying of LBGTQ youth from teachers perspectives. It is acknowledged that bulling is a concern for many children and teens, but as a LBGTQ youth the odds increase dramatically. It is important to get educators perspectives according to the authors because school environments are shaped by adults. Many LBGTQ students report bullying to educators, and do not see action, which creates a fear of confiding. A shocking fact in the article is how uncomfortable most teachers are dealing with LBGTQ based bullying, due to the fear of losing their jobs or reactions of parents. Teachers also feel unequipped to deal with LBGTQ subjects and lack training.

LGBT youth are most commonly targeted by bullying because society does not fully understand what these kids are going through in life. One of the main reasons for this is due to something that may set themselves apart from the norm and that includes sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian teens are two to three times as more likely to commit suicide than any other youths. Those who are rejected by their family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. About 30 percent of all completed suicide have all been related to bullying.

The common thought has been bullying is a normal reaction to school. Studies show that bullying is the result of underlying issues. Traditional bullying was a common thug trying to make a place for themselves, whereas now it has gone to new heights, it now includes physical trauma and even death. We find that bullying affects the bully as well as the victim. The victims tend to have more problems in school with attendance and achievements within the academic world. This is not just about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, it involves all students that don’t fit societies idea of normal then the person gets bullied. The amount of attention given to this issue is a direct result of this escalation in events within the school system from grade schools to universities. The most pressing problem with getting the bullying policies changed is the conservative communities that school boards serve and convincing them that these policies need to be

Gay bulling is a tragic epidemic that often occurs on school campuses. Every 9 out of 10 gay students experience harassment at school. Due to these catastrophic situations, gay youths are 3 times more likely to commit suicide than any other youths. Though incidents of school bullying are very common, celebrities and nationally known figures have instituted an Internet campaign that attempts to encourage gay youths by reminding them that it does get better. They encourage gay youths that they are not alone by telling them that they futures after school hold something better. ABC’s “What would you do” segment featured teen actors bullying a gay classmate in a public area.

School is an important part of any kids’ life, and the sexual orientation of their parents is an argument that has been made against LGBT parents by saying their kids will not be as smart or intelligent as children with straight parents. For children of LGBT parents, the most important people in their academic career are the school staff, the same with children who have straight parents. Tests showed with LGBT children “the presence of supportive school staff was related to their academic achievement. For example, students with LGBT parents who could identify many supportive staff at their school reported a GPA half a grade higher” (Allen and Goldberg). A study had even been done while trying to determine the psychological aspects of LGBT parents and social relationships which “reported no differences between children raised by lesbians and those raised by heterosexuals with respect to crucial factors of self-esteem, anxiety, depression, behavioral problems, performance in social arenas (sports, school and friendships)” (Gilfoyle). While only 33 out of 1,010 principals about 30% (Allen and Goldberg) studied had professional development help to handle the bullying LGBT children went through, there was no effect on the grades. All the tests showed that even as these children of LGBT parents were bullied, their grades did not suffer, and

Teens and children who admit to being LGBT or having LGBT parents are more likely to be bullied – about 76% of this population admit to having been

Many students may feel hesitant to speak out against anti-gay slurs out of fear of being persecuted themselves. In the U.K. a series of surveys commissioned by Stonewall reported that as many as 93 percent of young gay, lesbian and bisexual people who are ‘‘out’’ at school suffer verbal abuse (Thurlow, 2001). It is evident that it is not a coincidence the LGBTQ youth face the most harassment of any minority at school.

“Over 80% of the 8584 LGBT students included in the 2011 National School Climate survey reported being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation” (Bratis, 12). Year after year, bullying seems to take a more prominent footstep in society, especially with LGBT youth. Countless numbers of LGBT youth are harassed and tormented by other because of their sexual orientation each day, and with authorities condoning processes like conversion therapy, these oppressive antics will continue. In this paper, I will discuss two articles that discusses the effects of LGBT bullying in the United States of America and Europe and how the authors utilize the structure, language, and references to persuade their audience to support their claim for LGBT